Voice of Reason
by soulofair
Summary: In crucial moments, Liz knows how to step in and promote sanity. Cross-posted to my LJ- same username. I do not own the rights to 30 Rock or the characters.


Lydie Donaghy, the little Canadian daughter of Jack Donaghy and Avery Jessup, was an interesting girl. She had not the blonde hair of her mother, nor the sharp intuition for business like her father. She was remarkably normal and hadn't grown into the girl that her parents had hoped she would.

Avery had always pushed Lydie too hard; pushed her, from a very early age, to be something that she was not. In fact, Avery had insisted that Lydie start preschool when she was only thirteen months old, because Avery had wanted her daughter to be "better than the rest of the children because her daughter was better than the rest of the children by birthright". From what Lydie had heard of the matter, Avery's parenting method was awful, but when Avery and Jack divorced, and Jack got full custody of Lydie, thing got better. At least Lydie had an ally with her father.

Jack Donaghy wanted the best for his daughter. He was willing to stop at nothing to ensure that Lydie would go on and do great things. He urged his daughter to follow in his footsteps. If she couldn't be president, he at least wanted his daughter to run companies, sail a thousand ships with a snap of her fingers, and carry on the Donaghy legacy. Jack was insistent that his daughter go and be perfect; how could she not, when her mother was Avery Jessup and her father was Jack Donaghy?

But there was one Elizabeth Lemon who thwarted these plans. Elizabeth Lemon, the purveyor of sanity in Lydie Donaghy's life, had stood as a sort of surrogate mother in Lydie's life. Liz had always kept Jack in check when it came to Lydie. Liz must have recognized something in Jack that would have negatively impacted Lydie and decided to take on the role of keeping Jack in check. Without Elizabeth Lemon, Lydie didn't know how things would have turned out for her.

Of course, Liz's role in Lydie's upbringing had brought strife between Jack and Liz. Jack wanted his daughter to be brilliant, but he somehow felt that Liz was hindering Lydie by constantly protecting her and keeping her from reaching her fullest potential. Liz always countered with the argument that Jack never let Lydie explore herself and find brilliance somewhere that wasn't expected. Liz recognized that Lydie didn't like being pressured into things that Avery and Jack pressured her into doing, and wanted Lydie to be happy, yet imperfect, rather than miserable, but perfect.

One evening, Lydie walked through the front door to be greeted with an argument between two people. "I'm not the one who's ruining her. You're pressuring her too much to be something that she's not. How am I the one ruining her if I'm the only one who's trying to allow her to be herself?" a woman asked.

Lydie heard the strong voice of her father reply. "Lemon, don't ever say that she's just Lydie, because she's better than she is. She has the ability to be better than she is."

"Don't pull that crap with me. You said that to me one time and look at my life now. I never really figured out how to be better than just me."

Lydie recognized that voice as being Liz's voice. "Well, she's not you either. She still has the potential to be better than herself," Jack replied.

"So, Jack, what you're telling me is that you want your daughter to grow up being fake, being false, not being herself, because she can be better than being real? How the hell does that work?"

"I want my daughter to go on and do great things."

"And what makes you think that she isn't doing great things or won't do great things in the future?" Liz asked Jack, her voice indicating that she was calming down.

"Liz, I just don't see… it."

"You don't see what?"

"That massive, burning fire that runs through the veins of people who go on to great things, it just isn't there, in Lydie."

"She's fifteen. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. Hell, I'm fifty-five and I still have no idea what I want to do with my life."

"But you're not my daughter. She is. She is expected to have that burning fire in her eye."

"Stop it, Jack. You're acting just like Avery now, and Lydie hates Avery. You don't want your only daughter to hate you. You can't force her to be like you. You were born that way… you were raised in conditions that made you like this. You have provided everything for your daughter, and she's had a wonderful life because of it. She has grown up to be a motivated, wonderful young woman. And if all she is in this life is a decent person who does what she needs to do to contribute to the world while being happy about it, that's all you can hope for. Besides, that fire could be there... it could just be hiding for the time being."

"Liz, you don't understand. You don't understand the…"

Liz cut him off. "Jack, I know you're wrapped up in your own life and kept to your head most of the time, but your head can't have been that far up your rear for the last fourteen years… who has been there when the nanny broke her hip and you couldn't get a replacement for a month and a half during the show's summer hiatus? Who has been there when the nanny couldn't get Lydie from school, or you and Avery were having a fight and you didn't want Lydie to witness it because you thought that a small baby wouldn't take well to witnessing a fight? Who was there when Avery left, and you didn't know what to do with yourself, because she left you to raise Lydie by yourself?"

Lydie could see Liz and Jack in the living room from a mirror that was hanging in the foyer of the apartment. Liz, who had always looked small in comparison to Jack, was now holding a presence that nearly rivaled Jack's. Jack looked torn down, but pretended to be strong. Lydie felt guilty that she couldn't live up to her father's expectations and felt completely awful that Liz was standing up for Lydie when Lydie herself was strong enough to talk to her father about these matters.

"Liz, I can't do this."

"You've done fine all this time. Why are you breaking now?"

"Because she's something I didn't account for."

"Right… you and Avery didn't exactly plan for her, right?"

"No… well, yes that's correct… but I mean, I didn't account for a child who wasn't like me. I know how to handle people like me. But she's like you, and I haven't figured out how to handle people like you."

"You'd think you'd know someone after twenty years," Liz muttered jokingly.

Jack didn't find the humor in Liz's statement. "Liz."

"Jack, Lydie is a brilliant young woman. She has thoughts and opinions of her own, and she knows how to convey these thoughts. Sure, she may not be executive material, but she is material for something. Just let her be herself, and allow her to grow into the person she is going to become. Don't be another Avery. Be her father, be Jack Donaghy, Lydie Donaghy's father. She'll appreciate you, no matter what."

"But what if she tells me that she hates me?"

"All teenage girls do that. And if she does it in a painfully melodramatic voice, you'll know she's bluffing. Come on, Jack… you have been with enough women to know that this is how females work."

"But Lydie is my daughter. None of the other women were my daughters."

Liz snorted with laughter. "A lot of them were young enough to be your daughters," she said jokingly, but continued with: "She's fifteen. You've been her father for fifteen years. Go forth and be a supportive father."

"Liz."

"Jack, she's been standing in the foyer for a few minutes now. She's heard at least some of our conversation. Go talk to her," Liz urged Jack as she grabbed hold of Jack's shoulders and maneuvered him to the foyer.

Lydie's eyes widened as she saw Liz and her father walk into the room. Liz peered around Jack's shoulders and smiled. "Sweetie, if you can see us through that mirror, we can see you. But I appreciate that you're trying to be sly. See Jack, she's learning a little bit about spying on others for her own benefit," Liz remarked as she patted Jack's shoulder. "I'll leave you two to it."

Lydie and Jack watched Liz walk out of the room. "Dad, she's right," Lydie murmured as soon as Liz was out of earshot.

Jack put his arm around his daughter and led her into the living room. "Of course she's right. She's always right when it comes to you. But don't tell her that."

"What?" Lydie asked in confusion.

"Lydie, Avery and I have always had our differences because we are too similar. Avery is strong, outspoken, and difficult. I am those things as well. That's why our relationship was always so intense; it was a constant power struggle. Now, with Lemon, she's not exactly like me. We're not too similar. She's non-fixed, not rigid, and cares about the emotional aspects of people—that's what being a creative type means. She's better at this than I am. But, I'm not about to go around telling her that."

"Why?"

"If I do that, I lose the upper hand in this debate. Let this be a lesson for you: never give your power away when negotiating."

"My upbringing is a debate…?" Lydie asked slowly.

"Yes. Well, it's actually more like a negotiation, but that's irrelevant."

"Must you always bring business and politics into everything?"

"Yes. Someday, you will too."

Lydie sighed. "Dad, just go tell her that she's right and that you'll back down. She'll win this argument anyway. She always does."

"That's why I have to keep my upper hand in this manner."

"But you lost your upper hand ages ago. What's the point in trying to drag this out?"

"It's a power struggle, Lydie," Jack explained.

"But you just got through telling me that you two aren't similar… and that you and Avery were so similar that your entire relationship was a power struggle. How does that even work?"

Jack smiled. "Your mother is the voice of reason, and I don't know when she became the voice of reason. I mean, when I met the woman, she was a walking disaster. And after twenty years of knowing that woman, she's less of a walking disaster, but I never thought that she would become better than I am at this."

"Well, something must have worked, because you're admitting that she's a better parent than you are."

"This is true. This is very true," Jack agreed as he nodded slowly, thinking about the many times when Liz had proven to be a better parent.

"Dad, just go tell Mom that she's right and put this to rest."

Jack sighed.

He had finally taught Lemon the finer details about negotiation and debate. Unfortunately, his tutelage had been too good, and his mentee had become the mentor. But on the other hand, Lydie had a teacher to learn from. And that was the best thing to come from this.

"I'm sure she already knows that she's the better parent," he told his daughter. "And if I were to admit that she's right, she might do that terrifying victory dance that she does."

"This is true. This is very true," Lydie agreed as she nodded slowly, thinking about the terrifying dance that Liz liked to break out time and again.


End file.
